Backing up an Avid project and general good practice

The work you do on an Avid project can be the culmination of a lot of hard work and time. Imagine how you might feel if one day you opened your Avid project and all the media had gone or it just refused to open. Perhaps someone deleted your work, the project had corrupted or the hard disk failed. All these are possibilities but they are possibilities that you can guard against by following a few simple rules.

1. Always make a backup copy of your Avid project when you have finished working. For MA IJ Documentary students the project folder can be found in the Documentary Projects folder on the hard drive. Your project folder will be named as it is when you open it in Avid. Inside your project folder you will find files ending with .avb, .avp and .avs. These are the important files that make your project work.

Close the Avid application and then Copy your project folder (and its contents) to either the Avid Project Backup folder on the D drive or F drive. If you save it on the D drive you will need to remember which computer you used last.

The project folder is very small in size so will on take a few seconds to copy. If the project folder already exists where you are trying to save it, you should overwrite it with the newer, latest version.

2. Always name your tapes, first by sticking a label with a name onto the tape and second by naming the tape during the capture process.

When the camera is recognised by the capture tool the Select Tape window opens. Click New Tape and enter the name for the tape. The tape name must correspond to that written on the label.

The next time you capture from that tape, the name will be listed in the Select Tape window. Select the correct tape name to begin the capture process.

3. Never record over your tapes until you are sure the project is complete, marked and if necessary exported.

If the captured media is lost, the only way to retrieve it may be from the tapes. If you have recorded over footage you have captured, then it is lost forever.

However, if you followed step 2 and 3 then the footage can be Batch Captured from the tapes by using the information stored in the project files.

Following these simple rules will mean that if an Avid project is lost or corrupted, it can be restored within minutes from a backup. And if the media is lost or corrupted it can be re-captured relatively quickly and easily.

Using an image over video - Avid - Part 2

This post follows on from the first post Using an image over video. This post will deal with working with the image in Avid and adding the image to the sequence. In Part 3 I will look at adding text along side the arrow image.

So we have created an arrow shape in Photoshop and saved it. Move the image on to the Avid network using the Transfer PC in room 0.13. With your bin open and active (the top part of the bin window is blue) go to the File menu and choose Import.

Before importing you must check a few settings. Firstly the video drive must be F:\Broadcast. Then click on the Options button. In the Image tab the follows settings must be selected

• Aspect Ratio, Pixel Aspect -601, non square
  
• File Field Order -Non-interlaced
• Colour Levels -RGB
• Alpha -Use existing
  
• Single Frame Import -10 seconds
  

Click OK, then browse to and select the image file, clicking Open to start the import process. Once complete you should see you image file in your Avid bin.

With the image open in the Source Monitor, it should display with a black background. Don't worry, if all goes according to plan the black background should disappear.

I will assume you already have your video spliced onto a sequence. To add the image over the video you must add a second video track for the image. Go to the Clip menu and choose New Video Track. With the image open in the Source Monitor now patch the Source Track V1 to the Record Track V2 by dragging from V1 to V2. The two track selectors should now sit side by side.

Switch ON the V2 track and switch OFF all other tracks. Place Mark In and Out points on the sequence to select the area where the image will go. Remember there is 10 seconds of image to edit with. If the selection is more than 10 seconds the image must be edited onto the sequence a number of times.

All that remains is for the image to be Overwritten on to the sequence. The result should be an arrow with the background video behind.

So we have created an arrow image and now its edited onto our video. Part 3 of this guide will show you how to add text beside the arrow image with the Text Tool.

Fade to grey - Avid

Fading an image or video to grey can be used to suggest to the audience that this is a serious bit of the film. As the video fades to grey, text might also appear, emphasising the words of a voice over.

Below is a guide to fading to grey.

1. Edit your video clip onto the sequence. For this example I will assume that the video, what ever the duration, will fade to grey half way through. An effect will always start at an edit point. As our effect will begin halfway through the clip we will need to add an edit point.
2. Move the blue play head to the halfway point. Making sure the video track is enabled select the Add Edit button, usually found amongst the timeline tools.
3. Now open the Effect Palette from the Tools menu and select Image.
4. Drag the Color Effect option onto the second half of the clip. An effect icon should appear on the clip in the sequence.
5. Open the Effect Editor from the Tools menu. There should be various options displayed in the Effects Palette, but if its empty click on the clip in the sequence and then the Effects Palette again to activate the options.
6. As we only want to reduce the colour to grey, simply slide the Saturation fader (SAT) to zero.

Before we finish we can also add a dissolve from the first clip (full colour) into the second clip (grey), hence the Fade to Grey title.

1. To add a dissolve move the blue play head to the edit point where the dissolve will appear.
2. Click on the Quick Transition button, usually found amongst the timeline tools.
3. Select Dissolve, Centre on Cut and adjust the frames to 12 (half a second).
4. Then click OK.

That's it, the clip will now fade to grey half way through. Play it back to see it work.

All that's left to do now is to render the effects.

1. This can be done by adding Mark In and Out points to enclose all the effects that have be added.
2. Then right click the mouse and choose Render In/Out.
3. Choose the F:\Broadcast drive and click OK.

Note: When we added the Color Effect to the clip we only adjusted the the saturation. However, there are many other changes that could be made to the clip within this effect. Have a play with the other options to see what else can be done.

Using an image over video - Photoshop - Part 1

Picture the scene, your editing a package about a serious subject, the Welsh Assembly or utility companies perhaps. You need to display text over the images to follow a statement made by the company. To relate the words with the company you also want to show the organisations logo along side the statement.

Or you might be explaining figures and want to show an up arrow where figures have increased or a down arrow for reductions. You might think that the arrow could be drawn in the Title Tool. However all my attempts at this have resulted in pathetic, thin and small arrows.

I shall explain how to create an arrow in Photoshop, add it to a sequence and then add text along side the arrow.

In Photoshop create a New Document of the size 720 x 576 (4:3) or 1050 x 576 (16:9). This will give an idea of scale that relates to the size of the Avid resolution. The background can be white or transparent.

Then from the Shapes tool choose Custom Shape Tool and select the arrow from the selection. Choose an appropriate colour, such as red for a bold statement, from the Foreground Colour palette. I am using blue for this demonstration as you might get confused in later stages.

Then draw the arrow by dragging across the canvas. Adjust the size and thickness as required. The arrow will always point to the right. The direction can be altered by choosing Transform - Rotate from the Edit menu.

The stage involves selecting the arrow and adding a mask. At this stage the Lasso tool could be used but it could be difficult or time consuming drawing round the arrow. Instead I use the Magic Wand tool but before you do the layer the arrow is on must be rasterized. To rasterize the arrow layer, select the layer in the layer palette, then go to the Layer menu and select Rasterize - Layer. You can now use the Magic Wand tool to select the arrow with one click.

Now click on the 'Edit in Quick Mask mode' (the right hand button below the Colour Options on the Tool palette). A pink wash or mask fills the canvas. Actually it has only masked over the background and not the arrow which remains the same colour. The selection we made earlier with the Magic Wand has made the arrow stay blue.

However the masked selection should be the arrow, not the the background. To change the masked area go to the Image menu and select Adjust - Invert. The pink mask is now over the arrow which in my example changes to a purple colour.

We are now ready to save the image. Save the image as a TIFF making sure the Alpha Channels are ON in the Save Options.

Now go to Part 2 to find out how to edit the image over a video track on a sequence.

Rolling and Crawling Titles

To create a rolling (moves from bottom to top) or crawling (moves from right to left) titles is very similar to creating static titles.

1. Open the Title Tool and select either the Crawl or Roll button.
   
2. Select the Text option and type your text on to the title.
   
3. As you enter text with a rolling title you will notice the length of the page becomes longer the more lines you type. However, with crawling titles the text does not continue to move to the left. Instead it flows down as with a normal text box. Once you have finished entering your text, go to the Object menu and select Make Crawl. The text will be placed on a single line and you can use the scroll bar to view it.
   
4. Format the text as required and save the title to your bin.
   
5. To add the title to the sequence open the title into the Source monitor.
   
6. Add a second video track by selecting Clip - New Video Track.
   
7. Drag the V1 source button to V2 record track to patch the track.
   
8. Add an IN and OUT point onto the sequence where the title will appear.
   
9. Add the title to the sequence by clicking the OVERWRITE button.
   
10. To view the title it must be rendered first.
    
11. Once rendered you will see the title either roll or crawl.
    
12. If the speed of the title is too fast or too slow adjust the IN OUT point and overwrite until you are happy with the speed.
    

Using keyframes to add movement to a still image

Occasionally you will need to use a still image in a sequence. However, its generally not a good idea to use still images in a movie as still images do not keep the attention and interest of the audience for very long. Sometimes you have no option but to use a still image and so a simple technique can be used to make a still image more interesting.

A simple and effective way of making your still image more interesting is to make the image move within your Avid sequence. By combining the use of scaling and position effects and keyframes, you can zoom into or out of an image. Zooming in draws the audience closer to the point of interest while zooming out reveals more of the surroundings.

The following instructions will show you how to create a zoom in effect on an image. The image will first appear at its original size, and then after a few seconds start to zoom in. Then the image will stop again for the remaining few seconds of the clip.

1. Import an image into your bin and edit about 6 seconds onto the sequence.
2. Go to the Tools menu and choose the Effects Palette
3. In the Effect Palette select Image from the list on the left
4. Then click and drag the Resize effect, from the list on the right, onto the clip in the sequence. When an effect is added to a clip it is indicated with a pink rectangle.
5. Next go to the Tools menu and choose the Effect Editor
6. When open, the Effect Editor should list a number of effect options, such as Background and Scaling. The clip should also be highlighted pink. If not, move the Playhead to the clip and click the Effect Editor window to activate the tool.
7. Notice that two pink triangles appear at the start and end of the clip in the Sequence Monitor. The pink triangles are keyframes, which allow you to make changes over time.
8. As we want our image to remain still at the start and end and only move during the middle, we will add two more keyframes to show where the movement starts and ends.
9. Move the Playhead a few seconds into the clip
10. Press the Add Keyframe button on the sequence monitor
11. Then move the Playhead a few seconds from the end of the clip and add another keyframe
12. There should now be 4 keyframe triangles on the Sequence Monitor
13. Click and select the 3rd keyframe so it highlights pink.
14. Then in the Effect Editor adjust the Scaling and Position properties. Activate Fixed Aspect before adjusting the scaling so that the image stays in proportion.
15. Notice the numbers to the right of the Scaling and Position faders. Once the image is in the final position write these numbers down as you will need them for the next step.
16. Select the 4th keyframe. Then click on the Scaling numbers and type in the quantity you wrote down in the previous step.
17. Do the same for the Position numbers

That's it. You should now have an image that zooms into a focal point. All that remains is for the effect to be rendered.

In the example movie there are four images. Each image either zooms in or out. To zoom in (as instructed above) you adjust the Effect properties on the 3rd and 4th keyframe. To zoom out adjust the effect properties on the 1st and 2nd keyframes.

Avid - changing the speed of video

Most of the speed effects found in Avid are variable speed effects, i.e. speed bumps, fast to slow or slow to fast. The most commonly asked for speed effect is a constant speed change. To create this effect you should use the Trim To Fill option found in the Timewarp effect. Although very simple, using this effect is not immediately straight forward and so here is an explanation on how to use it.

How to make a clip faster of slower

1. Open your sequence.
   
2. Open the Effect Palette and select Timewarp from the list on the left hand side.
   
3. Click and drag the Trim To Fill effect onto the clip you want to make faster or slower in the sequence.
   
4. By default the speed of the effect is always 100%. Unlike other effects where you adjust the options in the effect Editor, with the Trim To Fill effect you make the clip faster or slower on the timeline with the Trim Tool.
   
5. Click the Trim Tool to go into trimming mode.
   
6. Dragging the trim handles to make the clip longer will slow the speed of the clip. If you have Clip Names displayed you will notice the percentage of the speed change as the clip length changes.
   
7. Conversely, dragging the trim handles to make the clip shorter will make the clip faster.
   
8. Moving the trim handles does not edit the clip, only the effect is adjusted.
   

How to blur a face with Avid Xpress

At certain times it may be necessary to blur a specific part of your video, such as a face or number plate of a car.

Adding such an effect is a little tricky as there are a few steps to follow.

Once completed the sequence will look like the image below. Notice that there are 3 video tracks used. Follow the step below to create a blur on a face.

1. Splice in the video clip on to the V1 track.
2. Using the Effects palette add a blur effect such as Motion Blur (found in the Illusion FX folder)
3. Create a new video track. This will be labelled V2.
4. Add the same video clip on to the V2 track, making sure it is perfectly in sync.
5. Create a new video track. This will be labelled V3.
6. Place the blue playhead at the position needing the blur effect.
7. Open the Title Tool and draw a shape to cover the area needing the blur.
8. Save the title.
9. Edit the title on to to V3 track.
10. With only V3 track active go to the Fast Menu and select Remove Effect. The video will disappear leaving the white shape your created in step 7.
11. Using the Effects palette add a Matte Key effect (found in the Key folder) on to the title on V3.

Your blur should now be complete.

It may be necessary for the blur to move as the face or car moves across the frame. In this case a movement effect will be needed.

Capture HDV footage as DV

Convert using Sony Z1.

Info to come.

Media Offline! Avid Express/Newscutter

Media Offline! Avid Express/Newscutter

There are a number of different causes for media to be "Offline". The most common is when the Avid database files become corrupt. These database files then do not report correctly what media exists in the system.

To fix this problem first close the Avid application.
Then browse to the OMFI Files folder which contains a set of folders which in turn contains all the media files.
If the user last used a particular Avid computer, then open the folder named with that computer name.
Depending on how much media is in the system you could now be faced with a very long list of files.
Sort the files by Type.
Then scroll down the list of files until you find two avid database files.
Delete these two files.
Now open the Avid application again.
Once the problematic project is opened again Avid with automatically scan all the media files, which then recreates the database files you deleted in the previous step. You can check by looking in the folder which you may still have open.
Once scanning is complete, the media should now be available again.

Another reason for media to be offline, might be that the actual media has been deleted. Its always possible that this could happen but much less common. The delete function can be confusing to the less experienced user as it gives options as to which type of file, the clip or media, should be deleted.